la&Eq. 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

BULLETIN No. 930 A 

i 




jsy*fr'<&-ru 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry 
WM A. TAYLOR, Chief 




syJ^'^J"u 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



December 30, 1920 



THE PRODUCTION OF BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN 
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

By H. T. Edwards, Specialist in Fiber-Plant Production, Office of Fiber-Plant 

Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Safeguarding the supply of im- 
ported raw materials 

The binder-twine fiber situation 

The Philippine Islands as a source 
of binder-twine fiber 

Present condition of the maguey in- 
dustry in the Philippine Islands__ 

Improvements needed in the maguey 
industry 



Page. 
Purpose of the cooperative work 
with the Philippine Bureau of 

Agriculture '•' 

Outline of the cooperative work 10 

Results of the cooperative work 11 

The machine situation j. — 11 

The sisal situation 15 

Improvements on plantations IS 

Summary I s 



SAFEGUARDING THE SUPPLY OF IMPORTED RAW MATERIALS. 

IT IS ONLY within the last five years that any marked degree 
of attention lias been given to the subject of safeguarding the 
supply of raw products imported into the United States. Appar- 
ently it has been assumed that the world production of such impor- 
tant staples as fiber, oil, and rubber would keep pace with the world 
demand, that there would be a free and relatively unrestricted ex- 
change of these staples, and that there existed no danger of either 
an immediate or a future shortage of any of these materials. 

There has existed, furthermore, a very limited and inadequate 
understanding of the complex situation that has arisen with the rapid 
development of modern manufacturing industries. There has been 
no general comprehension of the fact that there exists to-day a degree 
of interdependence between different and often widely separated 
industries that was almost unknown 50 years ago. 

The World War brought an awakening with respect to these mat- 
ters. With a decreased production of certain staple products, with 

17949° — 20 1 






2 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

an increased demand for these same products, and with world trans- 
portation disorganized, it was made apparent that conditions might 
easily arise at any time which would seriously cripple a number of 
the basic and essential American industries. It was shown that the 
farmer is now dependent on the manufacturer and that the manu- 
facturer is equally dependent in many instances on supplies of raw 
material imported from foreign countries over which the United 
States has absolutely no control. It was demonstrated beyond ques- 
tion that action should be taken in this country, wherever such action 
may be possible, to safeguard our future supply of the raw materials 
that are essential to the normal operation of our leading agricultural 
and manufacturing industries. 

THE BINDER-TWINE FIBER SITUATION. 

An illustration of the weakness of our industrial situation with 
respect to imported raw products is furnished by the conditions exist- 
ing in the binder-twine industry. 

With an annual production of approximately 2^ billions of bushels 
of grain crops that are largely harvested by machinery, the Ameri- 
can farmers require each year about 200 million pounds of binder 
twine. Without this twine the machines can not be operated, the 
crops harvested, and the food supply of the country maintained. 

With the exception of very limited quantities, the entire supply of 
binder twine used in the United States is manufactured from hene- 
quen and sisal fibers, and more than 90 per cent of the total supply 
of these fibers imported into the United States is received from 
Mexico. Henequen production in Mexico is confined largely to 
the one relatively small State of Yucatan (fig. 1). It is apparent, 
therefore, that any condition in Yucatan that might result in a 
material decrease in the output of henequen or any condition of 
world affairs that might result in the supply of Yucatan fiber being- 
diverted to markets other than those of the United States would 
seriously affect the production of the most important staple food 
crops of this country. 

The locations of political disturbances and of military operations 
during the last six years have not been such as largely to reduce the 
production or seriously to interfere with the distribution of Yucatan 
henequen. American manufacturers have been able to obtain the 
required supply of this fiber, although at prices representing an in- 
crease of approximately $28,000,000 in the yearly binder-twine bill 
of the American farmer. There is no assurance, however, that dis- 
turbances of the future or that increasing industrial competition 
under peace conditions may not affect both the production and the 
distribution of this essential product. 



..OR CONGRESS 
PEEVED 

'JAN111921 

RTS uiVlSIOM 



r*\ BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 3 

In order that the farmers of the United States may have reason- 
able assurance of being able to obtain at all times and under all con- 
ditions an adequate supply of binder twine at reasonable prices, it 
is necessary that an increased supply of binder-twine fiber be pro- 
duced in United States territory or in countries over which the 
United States exercises political control. In view of this situation, 
investigations have been made by the United States Department of 
Agriculture for the purpose of determining in what places the nat- 
ural conditions are most favorable for the production of sisal and 
henequen. As a result of these investigations, cooperative work has 




Pig. 1 — Well-developed 9-year-okl plants of henequen in Yucatan from which the sixth 
semiannual crop is being harvested. 

been carried on during the last three years with the Philippine Bu- 
reau of Agriculture to encourage the increased production of binder- 
twine fiber in the Philippine Islands. 

THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS AS A SOURCE OF BINDER-TWINE 

FIBER. 

With climatic and soil conditions favorable for the production of 
sisal, with large areas of unoccupied Government land, with a fairly 
abundant supply of relatively cheap labor, with good roads and 
cheap interisland water transportation, and with sisal plants already 
widely distributed in a number of different Provinces, the Philip- 
pine Islands possess the requirements essential for the development 
of a flourishing sisal industry. 



BULLETIN 930, V. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



At the time of the American occupation of the Philippines these 
islands were exporting each year a few hundred bales of so-called 
" Manila maguey " fiber. The maguey is a plant closely related to 
the true sisal and to Yucatan henequen, but it produces a fiber some- 
what softer and finer than either sisal or henequen. It is probable 
that maguey (fig. k 2) was originally introduced into the Philip- 
pine Islands from Mexico. 




Pig. 2. — A maguey plant at the Lainao Experiment Station, Bataan Province, Philippine 

Islands. 

In 1904 the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture organized a cam- 
paign to encourage the increased production of maguey and also 
imported sisal plants from the Hawaiian Islands. This work has been 
continued up to the present time, with the result that the exports of 
maguey fiber from the Philippine Islands increased from 875 tons 
in 1901 to 15,639 tons in 1916. The work of the Philippine Bureau of 
Agriculture brought about a large increase in the production of 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 5 

maguey fiber in the Philippines, but it did not result in any material 
increase in the production of sisal fiber or in the production of ma- 
chine-cleaned fiber, which is required for the manufacture of binder 
twine. 

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE MAGUEY INDUSTRY IN THE 
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

Maguey and sisal are now grown in nearly every Province of the 
Philippine Islands. The production of fiber on a commercial scale 
is confined, however, to northwestern Luzon, where it is grown in the 
Provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and La Union, and to that 
part of the Visayan Islands which includes the islands of Cebu, Bohol, 
Siquijor, and a number of small islands near Cebu and Bohol. There 
are other islands and Provinces where conditions are favorable for 
the cultivation of maguey and sisal, and it is probable that, with the 
more general use of fiber-cleaning machines in the Philippines, there 
will be a gradual extension of the fiber industry into new districts. 

The Ilocos Provinces of Luzon formerly produced the greater part 
of the maguey fiber exported from the Philippines, but there has been 
a rapid growth of the industry in the southern islands during recent 
years, with the result that this region now produces considerably 
more fiber than the Luzon Provinces. During the month of May, 
1920, the production of maguey and sisal fibers in the Visayas was 
8,801 bales, as compared with 4,482 bales produced in the Ilocano 
Provinces. While there is opportunity for further development of 
this industry in northern Luzon, the conditions are more favorable 
in the southern islands. 

Table I shows the areas of maguey and sisal plants under cultiva- 
tion in the Philippine Islands for the last eight years, as reported by 
the division of farm statistics of the Philippine Bureau of Agri- 
culture. 

Table I. — Area devoted to the cultivation of maguey and .sisal crops in the 
Philippine Islands for the 8-year period from 1912 to imn. inclusive. 



Year. 


Area. 


Year. 

1916.... 
L917 

1919 


Area. 


1912.. 
1913.. 
1914.. 
1915.. 


Hectares A 

8,598 
9 283 
L8, 218 

19,218 


Hectares. 1 
30,804 
28,099 
32,601 

28, 455 



1 A hectare is euivalent to 2.471 acres. 

While these figures may represent with a reasonable degree of 
accuracy the areas of maguey and sisal that were actually harvested 
during the years mentioned, it is believed that there was an increase 
in 1910. rather than a decrease, in the total area planted to these 
crops. 



6 



BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



During the latter part of 1917 the use of salt-water retted maguey 
for the manufacture of binder twine was discontinued by Amqrican 
manufacturers, and there has been but little demand for this product 
in the American markets for the last three years. As a result, the 
exports of maguey fiber from the Philippines during 1918 and 1919 
were less than during 1916 and 1917. There has not been a corre- 
sponding decrease, however, in the area under cultivation. In a few 
isolated cases maguey plants have been destroyed and the fields 
planted to other crops, but this limited decrease in area has been 
more than offset by new plantings. 

Table II shows the production of maguey and sisal fibers in the 
Philippine Islands for the last eight years, as reported by the divi- 
sion of farm statistics of the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture. 

Table II. — Total and average production of maguey and sisal /Hut* in the 
Philippine Islands for the S-ijear period from 1912 to lf)l!>, inclusive. 



Year . 


Production 
of fiber. 


Average 
production 
per hectare. 


Year. 


Production 
of fiber. 


A verage 
production 

per hectare. 


1912.. 

1913.. 
1914.. 
1915.. 


Metrictons. 

4,628 
3,619 
7.583 
6,315 


PiCllls. 1 

8.51 
6.17 
11.65 

8.05 


1916.... 
1917.... 
191S.... 
1919.... 


Metrictons. 
13,389 

17,190 
Hi 664 
12.31S 


P tails. 1 
8.98 
12.31 
11.99 
10.83 



1 A picul is equivalent to 137.5 pounds. 

When the use of Philippine salt-water retted fiber for the manu- 
facture of binder twine_was discontinued in 1917 it was, for the time 
being, a severe blow to the maguey industry. Fortunately for the 
maguey planters, there was a strong demand for this fiber in coun- 
tries other than the United States, which partially offset the loss of 
the American market. As the action taken by American manufac- 
turers in regard to salt-water retted fiber has served to stimulate the 
interest of the planters in machine cleaning, this temporary loss of 
the American market may serve to promote, rather than to retard, 
the development of this industry. 

There has been an increased production of maguey fiber during 
recent months, and the present indications are that there will be a 
larger output of binder-twine fiber in the Philippines in 1920 than 
during any previous year. Table III shows the relative production 
of maguey and sisal in the Philippine Islands during the first five 
months of 1920, as compared with the production during the same 
periods in 1918 and 1919. 

The production of maguey in the Philippine Islands with few 
exceptions is a small-plantation industry. Throughout the Provinces 
where maguey is grown there are man} 7 small fields and even smaller 
patches of maguey and sisal. The owners of these small plantings 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 



have become accustomed to methods and practices that differ mate- 
rially from the methods used on the large and well-equipped sisal 
and henequen plantations of other countries. 

Table III. — Comparative production of maguey and sisal fiber* in the Philip- 
pine Islands for the months of January to \lmi. inclusive, for the wars 1918. 
1919, and 1920. 



Month. - 


Comparative production (bales). 


1918 


1919 


1920 




8,834 


9,134 
5,554 
6,875 

6, 664 
9,595 


10,717 
13,319 
16,312 
13,227 
13,337 


February 

Mav 


7, 753 
1(1, 860 
!l, 063 
9,235 




Total 


45, 745 


37, N42 


66, 912 



In the planting of maguey the land, usually rough and rocky, is 
cleared or partially cleared of shrubs and weeds, and the mague} 7 
plants, usually small and of inferior quality, are set out more or less 
irregularly (fig. 3). The distance between the plants is ordinarily 
not more than 3 or 4 feet and frequently even less. The plantings 
are then entirely neglected or are kept partially cleared until such 
time as the maguey plants are ready for the first cutting of leaves. 
On account of the close planting and the lack of cultivation the 
maguey fields frequently become an impenetrable jungle. The first 
cutting of leaves is usually made before any of the leaves are mature, 
and at both the first and the subsequent cuttings the plants are de- 
nuded of all but a small bunch of leaves. As a result of this over- 
cutting many immature leaves are harvested and the development of 
the plants is retarded. 

When the prices of fiber are low the maguey plantings are neg- 
lected and occasionally destroyed. When prices are high all avail- 
able leaves are harvested regardless of whether or not they are ready 
for cutting. Harvesting is carried on irregularly and at the conven- 
ience of the owner. After being cut from the plant, the leaves are 
split in narrow strips and these strips are made into small bundles. 
The bundles of split leaves are then taken to the nearest sea beach or 
to the mouth of some tidal creek and are immersed in salt water for 
a period of one to two weeks. When the pulpy portion of the leaves 
has softened and retted sufficiently the bundles are removed from the 
water, and. in small quantities, the retted leaves are scraped, beaten 
on stones, and washed in salt water until all of the pulp is removed. 
The cleaned fiber is then dried in the sun. With these crude and 
wasteful methods the Philippine Islands during the calendar year 
1916 produced 125.-1S4 bales of maguey fiber, which was approxi- 



8 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

raately 7.2 per cent of the total production of Yucatan for the same 
year. During the first five months of the calendar year 1920 the Phil- 
ippine Islands produced 66,912 bales of maguey fiber, which was 
approximately 20 per cent of the production of Yucatan sisal for the 
same period. 

The production of binder-twine fiber in all countries other than the 
Philippine Islands is conducted as a large-plantation industry. This 
is primarily due to the fact that the economical production of a good 
quality of binder-twine fiber involves the use of expensive fiber- 
cleaning machinery. The economical operation of this machinery 
requires a large and dependable supply of leaves, such as is ordinarily 




Fig. 3. — A maguey field at San Miguel. 1 locos Norte Province, Philippine Islands. 

obtainable under conditions found in tropical countries only on large 
and well-organized plantations. 

One of the fundamental problems, therefore, in encouraging the 
increased production of maguey and sisal fibers in the Philippine 
Islands is to increase the number of large plantations. 

IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED IN THE MAGUEY INDUSTRY. 



The reforms most urgently needed on the Philippine maguey plan- 
tations are better preparation of the land that is used for field plant- 
ing, the establishment of nurseries, the use of larger and more 
vigorous sucker plants, wider spacing between the rows and between 
the plants in the row, improved cultivation, and a radical change in 
the methods of harvesting the leaves and cleaning the fiber. 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 9 

It is possible that the introduction of cleaning machines will do 
more to improve conditions on the maguey plantations than any other 
work that can be done. The planters who are investing their capital 
in large modern machines will naturally be interested in their profit- 
able operation. In order to operate them profitably a large and 
regular supply of good leaves is essential. The quality of leaves 
required for the most successful operation of the machines can not 
be produced without the introduction of improvements in methods 
of production. This fact has already been demonstrated where Gov- 
ernment machines have been operated, and it will be more generally 
and more clearly understood now that machines are being purchased 
and operated by the planters themselves. 

PURPOSE OF THE COOPERATIVE WORK WITH THE PHILIPPINE 
BUREAU OF AGRICULTURE. 

During the calendar year 1916 it was proposed that the United 
States Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Bureau of 
Agriculture engage in cooperative work to encourage the increased 
production of binder-twine fiber in the Philippine Islands. 

The plan of this proposed cooperation, which was subsequently 
approved, was based on the following essential considerations : 

(1) That binder twine is now an article indispensable to practically all 
American grain growers. 

(2) That more than 80 per cent of the binder twine now manufactured in the 
United States is made from henequen (Yucatan sisal). 

(3) That the dependence of the American farmers and manufacturers on 
this one source of supply of binder-twine fiber is a serious danger to American 
agriculture. 

(4) That it is extremely desirable that binder-twine fiber be produced in 
increasing quantities in territory under the control of the United States. 

(5) That there are in the Philippine Islands extensive areas having conditions 
of climate and soil suitable for the production of maguey and sisal and these 
plants are already widely distributed in the Philippines. 

(6) That the production of binder-twine fiber in the Philippine Islands can lie 
increased by the use of modern methods such as have made the industry profit- 
able elsewhere. 

(7) That without the use of adequate machinery for extracting the fiber the 
industry can not be profitably and extensively developed. 

(8) That the most important activities of this cooperative work should be 
the purchase, installation, and operation for demonstration purposes of fiber- 
cleaning machines of types regarded as best adapted to the needs and conditions 
in the Philippines and the distribution to the growers of approved types of 
plants. 

(0) That the expenses, estimated at $40,000 per annum, be borne jointly by 
the Government of the United States and the Government of the Philippine 
Islands. 

(10) That this cooperative work should ultimately result to the advantage of 
the United States by increasing the production of binder-twine fiber in the Phil- 
17949°— 20 2 



10 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

ippine Islands to such an extent as to prevent a monopoly of this product by 
any one country and to the advantage of the Philippine Islands by building up 
an important industry in the poorest and most thickly populated Provinces. 

OUTLINE OF THE COOPERATIVE WORK. 

Under the terms of this cooperative agreement the Philippine 
Bureau of Agriculture has purchased and operated for demonstra- 
tion purposes one Prieto No. 51 fiber-cleaning machine and one Prieto 
No. 251 fiber-cleaning machine, and has installed and operated one 
Prieto No. 251 fiber-cleaning machine purchased by the United States 
Department of Agriculture; has distributed sisal bulbils purchased 
by the United States Department of Agriculture in the Hawaiian 
Islands and sisal and maguey bulbils and suckers grown at La Car- 
lota Experiment Station ; has detailed one or more emplo} 7 ees on ex- 
tension work in the Provinces; and has conducted educational and 
publicity work. 

The United States Department of Agriculture furnished one Prieto 
No. 251 fiber-cleaning machine and 500,000 sisal bulbils purchased in 
the Hawaiian Islands, and detailed one specialist on this work in the 
Philippine Islands from August, 1917, to June, 1918, and from De- 
cember, 1919, to April, 1920. 

When the cooperative Government work was first organized, a com- 
mittee representing the United States Department of Agriculture, 
the Philippine Government, and the commercial fiber interests in the 
Philippine Islands was appointed by the Governor General of the 
Philippine Islands to investigate the maguey industry and to make 
recommendations as to the means that should be employed to en- 
courage the increased production of binder-twine fiber in the Philip- 
pine Islands. Subsequent Government work has been based on the 
recommendations of this committee. 

During the season of 1917-18 an educational campaign was carried 
on throughout the Philippine Islands for the purpose of disseminat- 
ing information regarding the binder-twine fiber situation and the 
possibilities for increasing the production of maguey and sisal fibers 
in the Philippines. Field agents of the Philippine Bureau of Agri- 
culture were detailed in the Provinces where maguey is grown to 
carry on extension work in the interests of the industry. Two fiber- 
cleaning machines were received in Manila during the latter part of 
1917. These machines were first installed and tested in Manila and 
subsequently were installed and operated for demonstration purposes 
elsewhere — one in the Province of Cebu and the other in the Province 
of Ilocos Sur. Sisal bulbils to the number of 250,000 were imported 
from the Hawaiian Islands and distributed to the agricultural schools 
and to the maguey planters. The Government regulations providing 
for the classification and grading of fibers were so amended as to pro- 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 11 

vide necessary grades for machine-cleaned maguey and sisal, and 
plans were prepared for a Government sisal plantation. 

During the season of 1919-20 all of the maguey-producing Provinces 
were visited for the purpose of ascertaining the degree of progress 
that had been made and the changes or improvements that should 
now be made. Conferences were held with the local Government 
officials and the planters for a discussion of the fiber situation. All 
of the fiber-cleaning machines that have been installed were inspected 
and necessary arrangements were made for remedying any defects 
in the operation of these machines. Arrangements were completed 
for the transfer of the Government fiber-cleaning machine now lo- 
cated at San Fernando, Cebu, to the island of Siquijor, where the 
need for a demonstration of the machine is particularly urgent. 
Numerous tests were made with the fiber-cleaning machines that are 
now in operation to ascertain the capacity of these machines when 
operated under normal Philippine field conditions and to determine 
the relative results obtained with sisal and maguey fibers. Sisal 
bulbils were received from the Hawaiian Islands, and 250,000 dis- 
tributed in the Provinces. Diseased sisal plants were located in the 
Province of Cebu, and arrangements were made for the destruction 
of these plants. A demonstration sisal nursery was planted at the 
Singalong Experiment Station in Manila. Plants were furnished 
and arrangements made for the establishment of a demonstration 
sisal nursery and field plantings at the College of Agriculture at Los 
Banos and for a course of instruction to be given at the College of 
Agriculture covering the more essential features of the sisal indus- 
try. A special effort was made to disseminate as widely as possible 
accurate information regarding the possibilities for the future devel- 
opment of the binder-twine fiber industry in the Philippine Islands, 
with a view to stimulating its continued growth. 

RESULTS OF THE COOPERATIVE WORK. 

THE MACHINE SITUATION. 

It was considered when the cooperative work was started in L917 
that the one thing most urgently needed in order to establish the 
production of binder-twine fiber in the Philippine Islands on a per- 
manently stable and profitable basis was the introduction of machine 
cleaning. The cleaning of maguey and sisal by retting the leaves in 
salt water is a slow, tedious, and wasteful process which requires 
much cheap labor and produces in the end a fiber of inferior quality. 
The retting s}^stem encourages, furthermore, the continued use of 
unsatisfactory methods on the plantations, as the small and immature 
leaves are more easily retted than the large mature leaves. With 
salt-water retting the only available means of cleaning maguey, the 



12 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

cultivation of this crop was restricted to limited areas of land near 
the seacoast, as the leaves can not profitably be transported for long 
distances. It was clearly evident that the producers of retted maguey 
and sisal fibers could not hope to compete successfully with the pro- 
ducers of machine-cleaned sisal in other countries. If any further 
argument in favor of machine cleaning was necessary, it was fur- 
nished during the latter part of 1917, when American manufacturers 
decided to discontinue the use of salt-water retted fiber for binder 
twine. As the principal use of maguey had been for the manufacture 
of binder twine, the results of this action would have been disastrous 
to the maguey industry had there not been at the time an unusually 
strong demand for this fiber for other purposes and in countries 
other than the United States. There is no probability, however, that 
there will ever be, under normal industrial conditions, a steady 
demand for retted maguey and sisal fibers at prices that will make 
the production of these fibers a profitable industry. 

In 1917 no fiber-cleaning machines for maguey and sisal were in 
operation in the Philippines and no commercial agencies for such 
machines had been established in the Islands. The planters were 
not familiar with the work of machines of this character and did not 
know where or under what conditions machines could be obtained. 

One of the first lines of cooperative work undertaken was to 
demonstrate that maguey and sisal can be successfully and profitably 
cleaned in the Philippine Islands by the use of machinery. The 
Government has purchased, installed, and operated in the maguey- 
producing Provinces of the Philippines three modern fiber-cleaning 
machines. On account of the high cost of machinery and the lack 
of adequate transportation, this Avork has been conducted under un- 
usually difficult conditions. It has, however, produced definite and 
positive results. The maguey planters have been shown that the use 
of machines for cleaning maguey and sisal in the Philippine Islands 
is entirely practicable, and a commercial agency for handling fiber- 
cleaning machines has been established in Manila, through which the 
Philippine planters are now able to purchase machines on very lib- 
eral terms. 

On April 1, 1920, 18 modern fiber-cleaning machines were either 
in operation, were being installed, or had been ordered for use in 
the Philippine Islands. These 18 machines will have a total daily 
cleaning capacity of approximately 2,000,000 leaves. With an aver- 
age yield of 50 pounds of fiber per 1,000 leaves, which is ordinarily 
obtained with henequen and sisal, the total daily output from 2,000,- 
000 leaves would be 50 tons of fiber, or the total annual output, for 
300 working days, would be 15,000 tons of fiber, which is more than 
the present total production of maguey and sisal in the Philippine 
Islands. With the small maguey leaves that are now obtainable in 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 13 

the Philippines, from 8,000 to 10,000 leaves are required to produce 
1 picul (137.5 pounds) of fiber. Two million leaves of this charac- 
ter would produce 15 tons of fiber, or with a daily supply of 2,000,000 
leaves an annual output of 4,500 tons of fiber. The machine situa- 
tion in the Philippine Islands may be summarized by the statement 
that a sufficient number of modern fiber-cleaning machines to clean 
from one-third to one-half of the present total output of maguey and 
sisal fiber have already been installed or have been ordered by the 
planters. It is not unreasonable to assume that this situation is 
largely the direct result of the cooperative work organized and car- 
ried on by the Government. 

An important problem in connection with the machine work has 
been that of determining the type of machine best adapted to existing 
Philippine conditions. 

With respect to size and cleaning capacity, three standard types 
of fiber-cleaning machines are now manufactured in the United 
States. These types are represented by the small machine, which 
cleans 3,000 leaves per hour: the medium-sized machine, which cleans 
5,000 leaves per hour; and the large machine, which cleans 15,000 
leaves per hour. The manufacturers ordinarily recommend the pur- 
chase of the larger machines, as it is claimed that they are more 
easily, satisfactorily, and economically operated. 

The Philippine planters, before the Government demonstrations 
with machines were made, were urgent in their demand for small 
machines. The arguments presented in favor of the small machines 
were that practically all the maguey plantations were too small to 
furnish the number of leaves required for the operation of a large 
machine and that but few of the planters had sufficient capital to 
purchase such a machine. 

When the three Government machines were obtained it was con- 
sidered advisable to purchase one machine of the smallest size and 
two of medium size. It was desired to ascertain whether the small 
machines could be profitably operated under Philippine conditions, 
and it was believed that the largest machines would be found too 
large to meet the requirements of the Philippine planters. These 
three machines have been operated intermittently for a period of 
two years with the following results : 

With the small maguey leaves, which constitute practically the entire leaf 
supply now available in the more important fiber-producing Provinces, the 
capacity of the small machine is not sufficient to make its operation profitable. 
With sisal or with large maguey leaves it appears that this size can be operated 
with a small margin of profit. 

The factor of small leaves and consequent lessened cleaning capacity is not 
as serious a matter with the medium-sized machine as it with the small one. 
With good business management and an adequate supply of leaves it should be 
possible to operate this machine profitably under existing Philippine conditions. 



14 BULLETIN 930, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

Although the large machines have not yet been tested in the Philippines, the 
indications are that in locations where a large supply of leaves is obtainable 
these will prove to be most satisfactory. 

Having observed the Government demonstrations that have been 
made with machines, most of the Philippine planters now prefer the 
largest machines that can be obtained. This is shown by the fact 
that during the last year orders have been placed for 11 of the large 
machines and 1 of medium size. None of the small machines have 
been purchased during this period. 

A number of tests have been made with the Government machines 
for the purpose of determining their capacity, the yield of fiber 
obtained from a given number of leaves, the relative yields of 
maguey and sisal, the relative quality of fiber obtained from maguey 
and sisal, and the relative percentage of fiber obtained by machine 
.cleaning and retting. As these machines were adjusted for cleaning- 
maguey rather than sisal, as the men who operated the machines were 
not accustomed to handling the large sisal leaves, and as sisal leaves 
of satisfactory quality were not obtainable, the results of these tests 
so far as sisal is concerned can not be considered as conclusive. 

It was found that the medium-sized machine, the cleaning capacity 
of which was supposed to be 5,000 leaves per hour, will, under aver- 
age conditions, clean about 7,000 of the small maguey leaves per 
hour. In one test made with 1,000 leaves, cleaning was done at the 
rate of 10,909 leaves per hour. The best result obtained with sisal 
was 4,615 leaves per hour. 

The yield of fiber obtained from the average-sized maguey leaves 
was about 17 pounds per 1,000 leaves, or approximately one-third of 
that ordinarily obtained from henequen and sisal. The largest yield 
from maguey in any of the tests was 26 pounds of fiber per 1,000 
leaves. While these leaves were considerably larger than the aver- 
age of the maguey leaves that are now being cleaned, they were much 
smaller than the maguey leaves that can be produced on plants which 
are properly planted and cared for. The largest yield of sisal ob- 
tained in these tests was 47.74 pounds of fiber per 1,000 leaves, while 
other tests gave considerably smaller yields. As it was imprac- 
ticable to obtain sisal leaves of satisfactory size and quality, these 
tests should not be considered as an indication that Philippine sisal 
produces less fiber than the sisal of other countries. 

With the quality of maguey leaves now obtainable and with favor- 
able operating conditions, the medium-sized machine should clean 
approximately 1,500 pounds of maguey fiber in an 8-hour day. In 
all the tests the weight of sisal fiber cleaned in a given period of 
time was less than that of maguey fiber cleaned in the same period. 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 15 

Two tests indicate that the machines clean sisal more satisfactorily 
than maguey. The results obtained in these tests were as follows : 

Maguey. — 10 per cent grade A, 75 per cent grade B, 15 per cent grade (\ 
Sisal. — 85 per cent grade A, 15 per cent grade B. 

The tests made to determine the relative percentage of fiber ob- 
tained by machine cleaning and retting indicated that with both 
maguey and sisal the retting process gives a slightly larger per- 
centage of fiber than is obtained with machine cleaning. 

The essential conclusion that can be drawn from the results of 
these tests is that, with good business management and an adequate 
supply of leaves, the medium-sized and probably the large fiber- 
cleaning machines can be profitably operated in the Philippine 
Islands and can be used for cleaning either maguey or sisal. 

THE SISAL SITUATION. 

A detailed and accurate statement showing the relative value of 
sisal and maguey when grown under Philippine conditions can not 
be made at the present time. It would not be possible to find in any 
one locality in the Philippine Islands even 1 acre each of properly 
cultivated maguey and sisal from which complete and reliable data 
could be obtained. No accurate data are obtainable showing the 
production of leaves and fiber for a given area of either sisal or 
maguey in the Philippine Islands. It appears, however, that sisal 
will prove to be a more profitable crop than maguey in the Philip- 
pines. This assumption is based on the known production of sisal 
in other countries and the estimated production of maguey in the 
Philippines, as well as on the fact that sisal leaves are more easily 
and satisfactorily cleaned by the machines than maguey leaves and 
that sisal fiber is more satisfactory than maguey fiber for binder- 
twine purposes. (Fig. 4.) 

During the last year it has been ascertained that maguey leaves 
can be satisfactorily cleaned by the machines without being crushed 
before cleaning, and the tests indicate that a given weight of maguey 
leaves will produce a larger percentage of dry fiber than the same 
weight of sisal leaves. These facts, while having an important bear- 
ing on the subject of the relative value of sisal and maguey, may 
be taken to indicate that maguey can be profitably grown where 
sisal is not readily obtainable, rather than the conclusion that maguey 
is a more profitable crop than sisal. 

For a number of j^ears the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture has 
been importing sisal plants from the Hawaiian Islands, and during 
the last two years the United States Department of Agriculture 
has purchased 500,000 sisal bulbils, for distribution in the Philip- 
pines. 



16 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 




Fig. 4. — Sisal in Florida. The more important sisal plantings throughout the world 
have originated from plants grown in Florida, although that State has never produced 
sisal fiber in commercial quantities. 

The shipment of 250,000 sisal bulbils received in Manila in 1918 was 
distributed by the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture to planters and 
to agricultural schools in the Provinces. Arrangements had been 
made for placing these plants in Government nurseries, but lack of 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 17 

funds made it impossible to establish them. It was believed that it 
would be advisable to have a number of small demonstration plant- 
ings in connection with the school gardens at various places in the 
maguey-producing Provinces. The results obtained with the school- 
garden nurseries were not satisfactory, and future distributions will 
be made direct to the planters. 

In March, 1920, a second shipment of 250,000 sisal bulbils was re- 
ceived in Manila. As fiber-cleaning machines are now being installed 
at different places both in the Ilocos Provinces and in Cebu, and as the 
machines do more satisfactory work with sisal than with maguey, it 
was considered advisable to limit the distribution of these plants to 
a small number of responsible planters whose plantations are located 
near the places where machines are to be installed. Some of these 
plants were used for demonstration nurseries at the Singalong 
Experiment Station in Manila and at the College of Agriculture in 
Los Banos. 

While the establishment of sisal in the Philippines has been slow, 
the distribution of Hawaiian plants has been by no means without 
results of value. From the Government nurseries at La Carlota, in 
the Province of Occidental Negros, large numbers of sisal bulbils and 
suckers have been distributed. A sisal industry has been established 
on the island of Siquijor, which is now the principal industry of that 
island, and it is probable that the Siquijor industry alone would 
justify all expenditures that have been made by the Government in 
this work. 

The introduction of cleaning machines in the Philippines will prob- 
ably result in a decided change in the attitude of the planters toward 
sisal, and in the localities where machines are installed it should be 
possible to get sisal nurseries established. Wherever a machine has 
been operated the planters have had an opportunity to see that sisal 
is cleaned more easily and produces a better quality of fiber than 
maguey. 

The principal source of supply of sisal plants in the Philippine 
Islands is the island of Siquijor. While the Siquijor plantings are 
quite widely scattered and accurate data showing the total area arc 
not available, there are several hundred acres of sisal on that island. 
On Cebu there is a sisal plantation in the municipality of Borbon, in 
the northern part of the island. In 1916 the Philippine Bureau of 
Agriculture obtained 100,000 sisal bulbils from this plantation, and 
both suckers and bulbils are available at Borbon at the present time. 
There are a number of smaller plantings in different parts of Cebu. 
and throughout all of the maguey-producing Provinces there are small 
patches and scattering plants of sisal. 

Unless the demand for sisal plants in the Philippine Islands becomes 
much greater than now appears probable, the plantations of Siquijor, 



18 BULLETIN 930, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

Cebu, and Bohol should furnish an abundant supply of suckers and 
bulbils for future use. 

IMPROVEMENTS ON PLANTATIONS. 

The field agents of the demonstration and extension division of 
the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture have been working with the 
maguey planters for a number of years with a view to encouraging 
the use of improved methods on the plantations. It has been ex- 
tremely difficult to get satisfactory results in this work, as most of 
the producers of maguey have small plantings only and are not dis- 
posed to make any changes in the methods to which they are accus- 
tomed. With the introduction of cleaning machines and with the 
consequent increased demand for maguey and sisal leaves of good 
quality, there will be an opportunity for the employees of the Phil- 
ippine Bureau of Agriculture to continue this work under much more 
favorable conditions than those which have existed in the past. 

SUMMARY. 

Important agricultural and manufacturing industries of the 
United States are now largely dependent on supplies of imported 
raw products. Necessary action should be taken to safeguard our 
future supply of these products. 

The grain-producing industry of the United States can not be 
maintained without the use of harvesting machinery, and this ma- 
chinery can not be operated without 'binder twine. 

The greater portion of the binder twine used in the United States 
is manufactured from henequen and sisal fibers, and more than 90 per 
cent of the total supply of these fibers imported into the United States 
is received from Yucatan. 

This dependence of our most important agricultural industry on 
one small State of a foreign country constitutes a grave menace to 
American agriculture. 

In order to remedy this situation, it is essential that an increased 
supply of binder-twine fiber be produced within the territory of the 
United States or in countries over which the United States exercises 
political control. 

The Philippine Islands possess the requirements necessary for the 
development of a flourishing sisal industry. 

The production of binder-twine fiber in the Philippine Islands has 
been restricted in the past by reason of the antiquated methods that 
are in general use by the planters, and a number of reforms in this 
industry are urgently needed. 

For the last three years the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture has been cooperating with the Philippine Bureau of Agriculture 



BINDER-TWINE FIBER IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 19 

for the purpose of encouraging the increased production of binder- 
twine fiber in the Philippine Islands. 

The more important lines of work undertaken have been the in- 
troduction of machine cleaning to replace the unsatisfactory retting 
process, the distribution of sisal plants, and the introduction of 
improvements on the plantations. 

As a result of this work, machine cleaning has been established on 
a commercial basis, and 12 large modern fiber-cleaning machines have 
been purchased by Philippine planters during the last 18 months; 
500,000 sisal bulbils have been imported into the Philippine Islands 
from the Hawaiian Islands; and there is now enough sisal in the 
Philippines to furnish an abundant supply of plants for future use. 
While there has been no marked and widespread improvement of con- 
ditions on the plantations, there has been a fair degree of progress. 

The production of maguey and sisal fibers in the Philippine Islands 
for the first five months of 1920 has been larger than during any 
similar period in previous years. During this period the production 
of Philippine maguey and sisal has been approximately 20 per cent 
of the henequen production of Yucatan. 



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